This workshop will consist of two separate but related sections: a talk that explores the concept of wellbeing in contemporary times followed by an experiential session that introduces participants to mindfulness practices.
In the first part of the workshop, Catriona O’Toole will explore the challenge of cultivating wellbeing in our lives given the human condition and the demands of contemporary living. This session explores how an understanding of our own fallibility as human beings is necessary for addressing both personal distress and as a first step in getting to grips with the broader social problems that concern all of us. Mindfulness and other forms of contemplative practice involve intentionally inquiring into the nature of our subjective experience with an openhearted and affectionate orientation. This talk draws on ongoing research to explore ways that these practices can deepen our insights into ourselves, our interconnectedness with others and our dependence on the world around us. It seeks to progress an understanding of wellbeing – not as an individual state or attribute – but as an emergent feature of living well together in a diverse and pluralistic society.
In the second part, David Mc Cormack will introduce Mindfulness meditation and explore the possibilities it holds for fostering well-being in a stressful and demanding world. Care for the self in this view, involves learning to relate to stressful aspects of experience in a different way – one characterised more by being than by driven doing. This shift of perspective allows us to respond more creatively to our own demanding lives, and as a result we can make a stronger contribution to the care of others in our lives. This workshop will involve an explanation of the key ideas and methods behind mindfulness meditation, an opportunity to experience these and a processing of these experiences in dialogue with others. This exploration will be informed both by my own experience, by the experiences of those present and underpinned by relevant literature.
Open Event - All Welcome
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This event is part of Maynooth University Research Week 2017. In June 2017 Maynooth University celebrated the 20th anniversary of its founding as an independent university. Research Week 2017 is part of a year-long series of programmes and activities marking this milestone.